Aussie Childcare Network Forum

Hi,
I am a teacher who has worked both in childcare as a room leader and for the ed department as a techer in WA. I enjoyed working in childcare because there was more freedom in planning and I liked working closely with other staff, with whom I am still friends.

HOWEVER the pay and conditions were reaaly bad in childcare in comparrison with what the ed department pays and the working conditions provided. As by the beginning of 2012 all WA childcares will have to employ a teacher, I was wondering what the pay and conditions might be. As NSW seems to employ alot of teachers in childcare, from what i SEE on the job boards, I was wondering if they could let me know what type of pay and conditions they get. I would really appreciate it.

Also I am hearing alot of parents complain about the cost of childcare. This bothers me as I feel the workers, work very hard and are underpaid and over worked. Isnt a child the most important thing in your life? What do you think?

(PLEASE do not notice the grammar in this post)
thanks so much for that reply. the center where i worked had 4 teachers and is a chain. they did not provide any benifits 4 us-or any of the other girls for that matter- but loved to tell the parents we were teachers.

Personally i think a starting would be a union for childcare workers of our own would be a starting point. Could you image the panic if cc went on strike! Maybe THEN parents would understand the value of cc workers.

Hi,

I been working in childcare for 17 years and have seen a lot of changes in this time. I am now a parent of two children and one child in care one in school. My older child in school pays only fraction of the cost a good private school compared to child care fees. The only people to blame is the government who did not cap the price of daycare and contribute money to better wages for Child Care workers.

Why is it that School Teachers get paid by the government and each child in a private school also gets funding from the government? Why is childcare not the same!! We have the most precious and vunerable age group to care and educate yet not the same conditions, the government had their chance to make childcare great but opted for private mickey mouse centres to be built with limited playgrounds and stressful work environments.

WAKE UP AUSTRALIA, ABC CHILD CARE CENTRES IS THE BEST EXAMPLE OF A FAILED CHILDCARE SYSTEM!!!

thanks for the long comment. Glad to not feel alone on this subject. I am fortunate I have a husband who is on a proper wage to pay most of the bills, however most child care workers don't have this luxury and some live on the poverty line which must make it hard to smile each day at work.

When I first began child care the industry had some wonderful group leaders and I was fortunate to learn off these wonderful Carers. As the government relaxed the group leader quals, assistants without proper training replaced these wonderful Group Leaders, (because they were cheaper) and to add more insult the government allowed private training centres to train child care workers who were only interested in money, yet again and not training them properly. They have now brought back in Teachers to rescue child care and taking away another age group we are not allowed to Teach and blaming child care for literacy problems instead of pumping money into Schools making classrooms smaller and more Teacher Aides but that's another story.

Just can't understand why government couldn't up the wages in childcare to make a half decent living instead of wasting money on school teachers, advertising etc, some have had only one year training because they are upper grade Teachers doing one extra year (another insult).

I have been working out whether or not to do my Bachelor but am worried about the cost and not spending enough time with my own children when studying. Just so cross at the moment thinking maybe after the ABC childcare failure the government had a small window of opportunity to turn things around and make better conditions and wages for workers, (our union doesn't seem to care either).
If only child care workers had a voice! Ohhh yess and with the EYLF program calling us Educators I am sorry but working in the Babies Room I have a hard time calling myself an Educator I love calling myself a Child Carer and promoting care as a core of all my programming decisions. Thanks for the comment, I get the feeling that most carers are too scared to speak out because of getting the sack, good to hear a like minded carer oops educator.

I agree ! I am 27 and a trainee at a Kindergarten. I do the same work as the others , yet while working in retail I got paid a lot more. I love my job and want to become a ECT so after I get my Cert 3 I am going to attempt my Diploma and Degree . It angers me that the pay is so pathetic , even a Kindy teachers wage is a joke when you see how much people get for doing Data entry etc ( which I did for a while ) . I believe a lot of people think childcare is about playing with children all day. But the Government needs to monitor more centres because some of the places are just horrible. Education , especially at such a young age is so important . But as workers we need to do more and push for more rights and speak up.

Just saw this and thought I'd comment know it is a OLD post, But as a childcare worker and a mother who's child was in care 4days a week so I could work in the same centre, I think that the pays and cost is crazy. I am a single mother, I wanted to work, loved working but the cost of long dayacre for 1 child and ASC for another killed me, Yes I got centrelink and a high percentage, but that doesn't go far when you are working crazy hours and pay daycare costs.. I think that owners should be allowed to help their workers out a little more if they have the child in care. or the govenment needs to step up again and help the people that raise the children of tomorrow.

not at last one LA nope. I got a few days here and there, but none thing long term. :/

In todays era the Nursery/Preschools are lot in demand. The Nurseries & preschools don't have qualified & professional teachers for the proper care of the children in their Nurseries. So i think that you are well qualified + professional teachers then there is huge demand for you as child care teacher in various nurseries.